First Balfour Inc. and its vendors agreed to explore measures to adopt and integrate into their operations in support of the campaign to help reverse adverse climate change.
The vendors that belong to First Balfour’s supply chain bared this plan in a forum early this month.
“Globally, the construction industry is one of the largest consumers of raw materials, and the processing of these materials for use in construction leads to embodied carbon in these materials in large amounts,” said First Philippine Holdings Inc. chief sustainability officer Agnes de Jesus.
FPH is the Lopez-led parent firm of First Balfour, an engineering and construction firm.
First Balfour strategic business head Vicente de Lima II said it is important to reach out to vendors and other stakeholders in support of the new Lopez Group-wide mission of forging collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future.
De Lima said that in dealing with a common threat like climate change, “collaboration with the vendors and subcontractors, government, communities, and even with competitors is most important.”
First Balfour agreed to join “Ako Ang Bukas Movement,” which the pro-environment and non-government organization Green Convergence convened to help fight climate change and help the country achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The multi-sectoral AAB has developed a calculator that the Climate Change Commission earlier evaluated and enhanced for quantifying the amount of greenhouse gases an individual or an organization creates. Studies identified GHGs, like carbon dioxide, as major contributors to climate change.
First Balfour will use the AAB calculator to estimate the company’s greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain. AAB shared this calculator with First Balfour’s vendors to help them quantify their own carbon emissions.
“Before we can act on the climate crisis, we must know the greenhouse gas footprint we generate,” Green Convergence convenor Dr. Angelina Galang said.
The forum raised the implications of adverse climate change to the construction sector and the business case for the industry to support decarbonization strategies.
De Jesus said the implications included the risk of business disruptions to the construction projects caused by floods and other calamities associated with climate change and exposure to potential regulations that may be issued to curb the accelerating impact of the climate crisis.
